Sunday, March 10, 2013

One More Week...

One more week...

On Thursday I see my surgeon for the second followup from my December 31st surgery. It has been ten weeks since I broke my leg up there on the mountain. The cast has been off for just over three weeks, and unless I'm outside of the house, I am going barefoot/in socks. I go up and down the stairs, sometimes foot over foot, but usually one step at a time. I definitely have a limp, unless I walk slowly and with shorter steps, then it is virtually unnoticeable. The leg itself is still swollen from the knee down,some days worse than others, and the ankle and foot are swollen as well. I expect that will be the case for months.

In a week, I hope to be on my bike again. I may only go a few miles, rather than my usual 15. I may stay in one very flat area, rather than to risk inclines or declines. But I'm going to be on my bike, and I'm going to be riding. My right knee, from months of non-use because that leg had to be non-weight-bearing, is back to its creaky, painful state. The first two weeks in the cam boot were so painful to my knee I didn't notice any pain in my foot. That right knee is the worst of the two, and it had benefited the most from the biking. It has gotten better over the last week, likely just because I've been getting around more, putting that knee to more use.

The weather is supposed to cooperate this week. We had snow yesterday, but it's a spring-like snow. Wet and melting right away. We're supposed to have temperatures in the 60's and touching 70 most of the week. Friday morning, I'm going to load my bike onto the bike rack on my car and drive up to the bike shop and let them air up the tires and give it a looking over. It's been sitting since right after Christmas, I'm sure the tires need at least air. After it is given a clean bill of health, I'm going to drive to the flattest of our green spaces and see how I do.

Will I overdo it? That is likely, but it is also just as likely that I'll push my limits and stop when I should stop, and come home to ice the ankle and maybe the knee, and rest up. Then I will do it again on Saturday. And maybe on Sunday.

I am anxious to get moving again. I'm anxious to be on my bike, wind in my hair, my muscles doing what muscles are supposed to do. It may be a while until I can ride that 15 miles again. But I'll be closer than I am today, and I'll still be circling all those people who are just sitting on the couch.